Vegetable cooker



Nov. 16 1926. 1,607,345

H. I'.. HARDING ET AL VEGETABLE coxna. Filed .Juize 9, 1925 s sheetsshnt 1 Nov. 16 1926. 1,607,345

H. L. HARDING El' AL vEGETABLE'cooKER Filed June 9, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 16 1926. 1,607,345

. Y H. l.. HARDING ET AL r 'VEGETABVLE COOKBR Filed June 9, 1925 I5 Sheets-Sheet :5

b/ry b/T0709 mvo feffyl'nee/ey SIMM,

*ma 35% l' 55, claimed, and illustrated inA the accompany- Patented Nov. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES monats PATENT 'oFFicEp HARRY L. HARDING AND PERRY E. GREELEY, OF SOUTH LEBANON, OI-IIO.

VEGE'IABLE COOKER.

Application led June 9, 1925.

This invention appertains to a novel cooking device for vegetables and more'particularly to a novel means for cooking green corn prior tothe canning thereof.

l The primary object of the present invention is to provide a continuous cooker so constructed that the entrance of steam into the material being cooked is entirely eliminated, thereby insuring the sanitary cooking of the material without hurting the flavor and color thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a continuous cooker for green corn in which novel means is provided foragitating the corn during the cooking process and for distributing the heat uniformly throughout the mass of cornbeing cooked, without sub jeeting the corn to the direct action of the cooking medium such as steam.

A further object of the invention is to provide a continuous green corn cooker embodying a copper kettle or boiler having a jacket partially surrounding the same for receiving the cooking medium such as steam, the kettle 'also having mounted therein a novel hollow stirr-er for agitating the green corn with novel means for circulating steam through the stirrer, whereby the entire' mass of corn will be uniformly heated.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a rotatable coil disposed within the cooking vessel for acting as a stirrer forthe corn, with novel means for directing Vsteam through the coil.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means rotatable with the coil for engaging the side of the cooking vessel or container for preventing the sticking of the corn tothe side-s thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of novel means forintroducing l the green corn into the cooking vessel or container and for draining the corn therefrom.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel cooker of the above character, which'will be durable and eflicient in use, one that will Abe simple and easy to 'manufacture and one which can be placed upon the market atl-a reasonable-cost.

With these and other objects in view, the i invention consists in the novel construction,

arrangement and formation of parts as will bev hereinafter more specifically described,

ing drawings, in which Serial No. 35,973.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through the improved cooker,

Figure 2 is ay horizontal section through the same taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view partly in. section showing the improved stirrer with the means for insuring the -correct circulation of steam therethrough.

Figure A is a horizontal section taken on the line L1--4 of-Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of the stirrer showing the path of the steam through `the stirrer arms.

Referring to the drawings in detail wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates the improved apparatus, which comprises a kettle or container 10, preferably formed from copper or some other suitable non-corrodible metal. This kettle or container 10 includes a cylindrical drum 11 having threaded on the upper end thereof a suitable head or disk 12 which also can be formed of copper. The lower end of the drum 11 is closed by the bottom wall orv disk 13, which also can be formed of copper and y this disk or bottom wall has formed on the container substant-ially two thirds of itsheight is a steam jacket 15. The upper end of the steam jacket 15 is bent inwardly and secured to the drum 11 in any preferred way, as at 16, while the lower edge of the jacket engages the outer peripheryv of the disk bottom wall 13 and the spacing rib or flange 14. Suitable rivets 17 can be eX- tended through the drum, jacket and flange 141: as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings to retain these parts in proper assembled position. The jacket 15 adjacent to the upper end thereof is provided with a steam inlet nipple18 and adjacent'to its lower end a steampoutlet nipple 19, Suitable steamv supply and exhaust pipes can be connected with the nipples 18 and 19 respectively.

The top wall orf disk l12 of the container is provided with an eccentrically disposed filling openingQO by .means of which the green corn 1s introduced into the container-M and the bottom wall or disk 13 is provided with an eccentrically disposed outlet pipe 21 and the fiow of tie green corn through the outlet pipe is controlled by a suitable gate or valve 22.

In order to insure the correct cooking of the corn and the uniform distribution of heat therethrough, an axially disposed hollow shaft 23 is arranged within the container and suitable bearings 24 and 25 are carried by the opposite ends of the container for rotatably supporting said hollow shaft. A suitable stuffingv box 26 can be provided for the lower bearing to prevent the 'escape of liquid from the container.

Steam is adapted to be supplied to the hollow shaft 23 in any desired way' and this shaft can be rotated in` any preferred inanner (not shown) in the drawings. Associated with the hollow shaft 23 and rotatable .therewith is a novel stirrer or agitator 27 for the corn. rllhis 'stirrer or agitator 27 is Constructed from hollow copper tubes, and steam is adapted to flow therethrough so as to cook the corn uniformly throughout. The stirtrer is so formed as to provide a plurality of radially extending arms and by referring to Figures 3 and 5, it can be seen that the tubes forming the stirrer consist of an upper horizontal arm 23 extending through the hollow shaft 23 for communication therewith and then downwardly as at 29 and horizontally to form a second arm 30 which extends around o'r through the shaft 23 and does n ot communicate therewith. This forms the first stirrer arm `as indicated by the reference character 3l. The arm 30 extends equi-distant on opposite sides of the vshaft 23 and is bent downwardly to provide the Ivertical Arun 33 and inwardly to form` the third arm 34E which also extends entirely through or around the shaft. This 'provides the second stir'rer arm as' indicated by the reference character 35.v The horizontal disposed tube 34 also projects equal distances from the hollow shaft 23 and the end thereof opposite from the vertical run33 is bent downwardly and outwardly as at 36 and terminates at a point intermediate the stir-rer arms 31 and 35; The fllbe iS then bent tipwardly 'to provide a vertical length 37 which terminates at a point equiwdistant the horizontal length or' tube 30 and 3a and extends entirely through or around the hollow shaft 23. This horizontal length 3S extends equal distances beyond Vthe shaft and the end thereof opposite from the vertical length 37 is bent upwardly 'to provide a second vertical length 39 which is then extended into 'a horizontal lengthy LO 'which Yext-ends through and communicates with the shaft 23. Thisprovides a third stirr'er arm as indicated by the reference character 4l.

Arranged within the hollow 'shaft 23 vi'nterniediate the horizontal lengths or tubes 23 and 40 is a plug 42 which prevents direct passage of steam through the shaft. In operation, the steam flows in the shaft from the upper end thereof and enters the first horizontal length or tube 28, through the vertical length or tube 29, through the-horizontal length or tube 30, through the length length 34T, up the vertical length 37 and then through the horizontal length 38, the vertical length 39, tlirough the horizontal length el() and down through the shaft and out of the container, when the saine is exhausted.

It is obvious that Vwhile the shaft 23 is rotated, the arms formed by the tubes will not only agitate the' corn, but thoroughly Vcook the same and distribute the heat unifori'nly throughout the massthereof and thus cooperate efficiently with the jacket l5 for cooking the corn.

In order to prevent sticking of the corn to the inner surface of the drum Il, radially extending arms 4:5 are carried by the shaft 23 adjacent to the upper and lower ends of the container and these arms are connected by vertically disposed scraping blades lo which are adapted to engage the inner face of the said drum.

A thermometer 50 is provided for the cooker and the tube 51 therefor can be eX- tended into the outlet pipe 2l in order to keep the temperature of the corn being taken from the cooker.

In order that the height of the corn in the cooker can be readily observed a glass panel 52 is inserted within the drum ll adjacent tO the upper end thereof as will be readily seen by referring to Figure l' of the drawings. l

In use of the improved cooker, the corn is introduced into the container throughthe filling nipple 2O and the steam is allowed to circulate through the steam jacket and through the stirrer 27 asV heret'obefore described. During the rotation of the shaft 23 the corn will be thoroughly agitated and the heat effectively distributed through the mass of the corn. During the cooking of the corn, the vapors are automatically exhausted therefrom and thus when the corn is taken from the drum the same is ready for canning and can be placed directly in the cans. As stated the corn is allowed to flow from the container through the pipe 2l and this flow is controlled by the said gate or valve 22. Owing to the construction or" ythe container, the 'corn can be easily introduced into the cooker and after the same cooked, exhausted therefrom, thereby sub: stahtial continuous cooker. j

The apparatus and method of cooking the corn is a decided improvement over the methods new employed 'in 4the caimingin- 'dustre's such as 'cooking the corn in the can, in which it is n'eoe'ssary to exhaustvapors from each can or introducing the steam directly into the corn, which tends to harden the corn and change the color thereof. The mingling of the steam direct with the corn also reduces the delicate flavor thereof.

While we have stated that the cooker is particularly adapted for cooking green corn, it is to be understood that the same can be used for cooking other vegetables, fruits and boiling down tomato pulp.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention, but:

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new is:

l. A continuous cooker for vegetables and the like comprising a vessel, a steam jacket surrounding the vessel and extending the greater portion of its height, means for introducing the material to be cooked into the vessel through the upper end thereof, means for removing the material to be cooked at the lower' end of the vessel, a hollow shaft rotatably carried by the vessel and disposed axially within the same, an imperforate coil carried by the shaft and communicating therewith at different points embodying a plurality of radially extending stirrer arms, the stirrer and the hollow shaft adapted to have steam flow therethrough for distribututing heat throughout the entire mass of the material t0 be cooked, radially extending rigid arms carried by the shaft adjacent to the upper and lower ends of the vessel, and scraping blades connected to the terminals of the arms for engaging the inner face of the vessel.

2. In a cooker of the character described, a vessel embodying a cylindrical drum, a head carried by the upper end of the drum having an eccentrically disposed filling opening,a disk carried by the lower end of the drum having an annular peripheral flange 'engaging the outer surface of the drum, a. jacket fitted against the flange and partially surrounding the drum having the upper end thereof converged to contact with the drum, an outlet spout carried by the lower end of the vessel, means for controlling the flow of the material through the spout, bearings carried by the axial center of the head and disk, a hollow shaft rotatably mounted within the bearings, a hollow imperforate coil communicating with the shaft at different points embodying a plurality of radially extending stirrer arms, the shaft and coil being adapted to have cooking medium i flow therethrough, and rigid stirrer scraping arms rotatable with the shaft for engaging the inner face of the drum.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

HARRY L. HARDING. PERRY E. GREELEY. 

